Like the previous, it is a female sculpture with the head and face sweating for long and repeated libation and rituals purpose. The signs of scarification on the face are the same and in this sculpture, instead of the belt as in the previous one, is visible a set of longitudinal incisions in the pubes.

Two rare Chokwe sculptures that fate brought together in this virtual space.

The presence of cavities on the head, in the stomach and anal used to contain the “magic substance” is attributable to the magical / religious purpose and the possible use of this piece in divination.

“This compact little object has concise forms. Seem from profile, the figure has a pleasing rhythm. The convex shoulder blades work with the arms to produce a sculptural result which is reminiscent of that seen in works from distant neighbouring groups, such as the Yaka or the Suku. The face and the coif are rendered with linear grooves and incisions. The manner in which the chin comes to a point gives the face a heart-shaped form.

The patina is dark and oozing on the face, and alternates between black and brown on the body.
Is this a representation of a Mukishi of a Hamba, or of both at once? A Hamba (pl. Mhamba) is an ancestral or nature spirit to which a cult is dedicated. Mhamba are represented by trees, pieces of termite mounds, intentionally simplified figurines and by masks”. ( B.von Lintig, 2011)

This mask is from the northern Yaka more likely from the Munene chiefdom, and was part of a set of masks, generally paired in the celebrations following the initiation of young males in Nkanda. The ceremonies are intended to further the adolescents’ social and physical maturity, and in particular to insure their virility as a guarantee of the community’ future.

The northern Yaka consider the kholuka mask to be one of the most significant types used in this context. It is worn only by the supervisors of the initiates. Its dance concludes the ceremony that marks the end of seclusion.
The dances are accompanied by songs concerned with adult masculinity, intended to confirm the new social status of the young men.

Like other Northern Yaka masks of this type, it combines carved elements with other parts: raffia, cloth, resin: here, the fabric coiffure coated with richly polychrome is composed of a central crest and two antenna-like projections “mizaanga” o “migaandi” on either at the other. The colors and the various elements of the mask have symbolic meanings related to the Yaka cosmogony.

The carved face is mounted on a circular framework and is related to fertility, femininity and there is reference to the moon in the frame that encircles the mask while the sharply upturned nose could be linked to the symbolism of the elephant that is an allusion to the male sex.
About the mouth is possible to observe the absence of central teeth in the upper jaw: in fact children’s teeth were removed because of tetanus, so as to have a way in which to introduce the drug once taken the infection.
All various exaggerated features speak to desirable characteristics of the young initiated male.
At the same time, the composition encompasses a variety of elements of both male e female connotation, pointing to an androgynous character that mitigates the emphasis on masculinity expressed in the ritual.

The collar of raffia that hid the wooden handle to manipulate the mask was withdrawn (the raffia share symbolic associations with the fertile palm-tree). This allows to fully appreciate the quality of the sculpture and its volumes, favoring a play of lines and shadows, especially on the circular edge of the face and the elegant twist of the nose.

The Bena Luluwa are allocated along the lower reaches of the Lula River, and after the group people collectively called Kuba, they represent the second largest stylistic group of Kasai-Sankuru.

Clearly distinct from that of its neighbors Bashilele, Binji, their style is based on a static sculpture, a net volume, which tends to convey an impression of haughty dignity and energy, enriched in a systematic manner by elaborately carved decorations.

This ornate isn’t a mere ornament and reproduces the signs impressed on the body of the dignitaries and heads (tshilenge tshilu) and is a key element in the establishment of the authority figure.

The male figures Luluwa are considerated to be effigies of founders leaders of the lineage. The power and authority of the person represented in this sculpture, are well made by the expression of the face, the careful hair from the trunk leaning forward, the big navel and penis and by all the tattoos/signs on his face and all body.
Complete the sculpture, big feet that guaranteed its stability during continuous treatment to which he was being subjected.

K. Timmermans who gathered in situ sculpture, reports that it is a work in the sub-group called Bena Makuna.

The nature of the sculpture, which P. Caput called “assez rare”, is still recognized in the iconography of Bena Luluwa and in fact such was published by Himmelheber, alongside other statues from the traditional.

The medicinal ingredients included give ‘value’ to these charms, which are produced in grest number by these people from Congo Brazzaville. The fetish is first carved with a square cavity, which is later filled with special ingredients prescribed by a religious specialist, who sometimes includes a piece of his beard with the mixture. A layer of resin containing more magical substances is added and reddish tukula is rubbed into the wood to secure the power of the charm. Denise Paulme suggests that these figures are kept by children for security ( see Les Sculptures de l’Afrique Noire). At birth, a piece of the placenta of the newborn is mixed with tukula and placed in the hollow.

The child then carries the figure until adolescence, when it is discarded. As Teke fetishes are quite common, it is rare to find one as finely carved as this example “(Linda Sigel)

“Their magical statuettes (generally called biteki or bitegué), almost always representative of a male, cannot be precisely catalogued, as only the recipient and their sculptors knew their intrinsic powers and the use for which they had been intended. According to R. Lehuard (1996), the bifwa statuettes, related to ancestor worship, are of two types: bankaga, representative of positive spirits, and mupfu, representative of negative spirits, which were in turn divided into nkiba (statuettes without relics or additions of any kind), and buti (butti). These more important statuettes, abundant with relics which materialized the spirit and supernatural power, were physical depictions of the ancestors. These statuettes could possess: bonga, a category of powers which comprised therapeutic components, nsala, for healing powers, iloo, with powers to fight against witchcraft, sorceries and the evil spirits of the ancestors, or ikwene, with magical forces of protection that ensured success in any undertaking.

According to the historian Jan Vansina, author of a monograph/dissertation on the Teke-Tio following field research from 1963 to 1965, the statuettes were called magic itio (a wooden figure used as a fetish.)”(Courtesy Vittorio Carini, Artes Africanae)

Pegs made of elephant bone represent the elephant’s ribs, and they also remind the viewer of the multiple meanings that Bwami assigns to the elephant. The image of the dead elephant, decomposed so that its ribs are expose, is evoked in the saying “Where elephant rots, there are many ribs”.
The saying , combined with the pegs, refers to the material possessions of a high-level Bwami member that are distributed at death. ( Biebuyck, 1986, 191)Kivu map (Congo)

This hardwood sculpture (12 in/31cm), is the image of a female figure. The dense matter shows signs of heavy erosion, which leads to the opinion that the piece is of considerable age. Due both to its color and appearance, the object’s consistency bears a stone-like resemblance. Both feet are missing, and deposits of sacrificial matter can be seen on the sculpture.

What characterizes this figure most of all is, firstly, the intense expressiveness of the face, which at times appears almost monkey-like with its bald head and the small crest on the forehead, emanating a kind of dark concentration, and secondly, the posture, characterized by a powerful and retained energy.

This feeling stems from the peculiar position of the exorbitantly long arms which, pushed so far behind and along the line of the figure’s back that the elbows almost touch, result in the dramatic backward curving of the figure’s shoulders, and consequently the extreme prominence of the bust.

The image of strength obtained by the position of the arms is slowly released and then establishes itself once again in the intertwined fingers of the imposing hands placed upon the stomach, giving the sculpture a sense of pride and vigor.

A pattern of small squares on both the cheeks and down the front of the torso shows evident scarifications.

Observing the sculpture from behind and in profile, an evident swelling of the abdomen is seen which the embrace of the imposing hands seems to protect.
The represented woman seems pregnant.
My hypothesis, therefore, is that this female sculpture was intended as a means of protection towards pregnancy or maternity.

In my opinion the sculpture of considerable age, is an arcaic figure that contain forerunner features of styles later developed in this area.

The iconography of this sculpture is characterized by an extreme rarity, and given that it is currently the only known figure with the characteristics described above, classification is therefore difficult.

“After further research I feel that figure may be Ishan. These objects are not well represented in the literature. They are north of Benin City and their art is influenced by the Bini, Igbirra and the Ibo. This attribution would account for the horizontal cut off of the forehead, the small rounded eyes, the position of the arms and the scarification on the torso. The figures also can have a downward pointing mouth.”
(Barry Hecht)

About his ethnic background, it is difficult to give an exact attribution. A group of sculptures with the same stylistic characteristics were brought in Germany in the late nineteenth century, with the generic attribution of Difale: but this is the name of a mountain village in the north of Togo, Kara Region, that at the time was a German colony.

Republic of Togo

It appears more appropriate the attribution to the people of Kabyé, who lives in that area, given the posture and scarification on the face and body, both male and female figures.

The Ikenga statuary is generally represented within the classical iconography from
a seated figure, powerful curved horns, fierce face and the symbols of
war: knives, shield, severed head of the enemy, well in evidence.

Much rarer, however, there is another Ikenga representation , the ones of
the Warrior /King carved with symbolic attributes of his dignity: the barrel and
the elephant tusk together with the whole zoomorphic complex set and the elaborate clothing.

On a symbolic level, the King / Warrior in the Ikenga
hierarchy is set to the higher rank.
The complex zoomorphic iconography of the buffalo, leopard and snake
(well represented by an elephant’s tusk) expresses the pride,
the hieratic determination and the power of the rank called Ozo. (Eli Bentor
1988, African Arts, XXI, 2, p. 66/71, 94).

The king’s body is covered with a scaly armor degrading that refers to a fossil amphibian, and two bracelets encircling the wrist.
Posture is solemn, the gaze is penetrating, profound – not aggressive.
A proud king warrior designed for the high rank that the Ikenga can express.

The figure consists of three sections: headgear, head and body, that occupy the space with harmony and composure, giving at whole a sense of consistency and uniformity.
The stylistic coherency of the three elements give to the statue a balance of shapes and volumes.

There are few known sculptures of this type.
The first, most popular, is the monumental former in Kerchache collection.
A second belonged to the Baron De Grunne, and another was in Verité collection.
Also Tell Collection has one, and three similar are respectively in the British Museum of London, in Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington and in the Boston Museum.

Finally on the book by John S. Boston “Ikenga figures amog the North-West Igbo and Igala “(1977) are reported two other of which one is dated at the beginning of the last century (p. 60 and 61).